The first one was 2 meters tall, weighed 340 kg and cost 2000 dollars. Too much for a simple microwave oven. But it was 1947. Shortly thereafter, in the 1950s, this appliance began to shrink, although it was necessary to wait until the end of the 1970s for the industries to be able to offer counter models with an economic price: around 500 dollars. In 1978 only 8% of American housewives own a microwave oven, in 1999 this appliance is present in 80% of homes. 70 years after its invention (January 24), even in Italy, there is no kitchen that does not contain one.
The invention of the microwave oven has been nothing short of revolutionary. In fact, since its appearance, this appliance has facilitated the existence of those who have little time to cook in the traditional way. Useful for defrosting food in a relatively short time, taken directly from the freezer, the oven is also suitable for heating dishes, allowing a considerable saving of time and energy, since having to remain on for small periods of time, it consumes much less than one traditional oven that takes much longer to heat and heat food.
Microwave ovens have many advantages and over the years they have been improved to include options including the possibility of grilling food, cooking with a crisp system or in the fan oven mode. These options ensure that the difference between a microwave oven and traditional electric and gas ovens is now completely eliminated, also having the advantage on the microwave side of considerable energy savings, as the oven remains on for much less time than one traditional.
Brief history of the microwave
His birth is not due to the ingenuity of a chef but to an unexpected development of military research on radar. In 1921 the American physicist Albert Wallace Hull created the first magnetron, also called Hull tube, a device capable of emitting very high frequency electromagnetic waves. With the outbreak of World War II, the United States and British cousins continue their studies on magnetron, with the military objective of developing radar technology superior to that of the Nazis. One of the most important laboratories is the Radiation Laboratory, known as the Rad Lab. Here very powerful and innovative radars are made which, by using the beams of radio waves generated by the magnetron, establish the distances of the obstacles thus facilitating the bombing. Percy Spencer, research engineer of the Raytheyon Company, works here. Born in 1894 in Howland, a town in the county of Penobscot, in the state of Maine, orphan of both parents, he entered the United States Navy young, the U.S. Navy, interested in understanding the radio transmissions. In 1920 he was hired by the Raytheon Company which produces magnetron. In 1945, it is said, that while he was in front of an activated magnetron he realizes that the chocolate bar in his pocket has liquefied. Intrigued by the event, Spencer places corn kernels in front of the magnetron that immediately become crackling popcorn, then tries with an egg that explodes instead. Unknowingly he had discovered the microwave. Research on the use of electromagnetic waves for cooking continues and in 1947 Raytheon obtains the patent for the microwave oven and begins to think of marketing the first machines of this type. Called "Radarange", from more range radar, to indicate that it was used to cook food by means of military radar, the first prototype is, we said, very cumbersome and impractical: a room was needed to contain it. But the research is refined and, finally, around the 50s the first oven for home use is built. But only in the 70s the industries will start offering home models. The new product is therefore exhibited at a trade fair in Chicago, an event that opens the way for its widespread use in all domestic kitchens, starting right from the USA. Because of his intuition, Percy Spencer was elected first vice president, then senior member of the Raytheon board of directors and will gain over 300 awards during his long career. A palace named after him reminds him of the Raytheon Missile Defense center in Woburn, Massachusetts.
The invention of the microwave oven has been nothing short of revolutionary. In fact, since its appearance, this appliance has facilitated the existence of those who have little time to cook in the traditional way (who mentioned the students?). The oven is above all useful for defrosting foods relatively quickly, taken directly from the freezer. It is also suitable for heating dishes, allowing a considerable saving of time and energy, since having to remain on for small periods of time, it consumes much less than a traditional oven that takes much longer to heat and heat food.
Microwave ovens have many advantages and nowadays they have also been improved to include some additional options such as the possibility of grilling food, cooking with a crisp system or in the fan oven mode. These options ensure that the difference between a microwave oven and traditional electric and gas ovens is completely eliminated, also having the advantage on the microwave side of considerable energy savings, since the oven remains on for much less time than a traditional one .